Adam Lanza is an American criminal who staged a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Connecticut in 2012. He killed 20 children between the ages of 6 and 7, as well as 6 adults, including his mother and the director of an educational institution. After the terrorist attack, Lanza committed suicide. Later, the fate of Adam formed the basis of scientific articles by leading psychotherapists. Each of them tried to explain the aggressive behavior of the killer and determine the motives for his actions.
Early biography
Adam Lanza was born on April 22, 1992 into an Italian-American family. The boy's mother had a great passion for firearms. She had her own collection of assault rifles and revolvers, which were kept right in her home safe. She often took her two sons to the local shooting range and taught them professional shooting from an early age. Adam's father did not support his wife's infatuation. The man all the time tried to protect the boys from a dangerous hobby, but ultimately trusted his wife.
When Adam was four years old, he entered Sandy Hook Elementary School. According to the mother, before his first class, the child was seized with anxiety. He had difficulty getting to know his classmates and rarely interacted with other children during recess. In high school, the boy developed serious mental health problems. Any noise caused him great anxiety. Once during the class, he became so ill that the teacher had to call an ambulance.
In April 2005, Adam's parents decided to transfer him to the Saint Rose School of Lima, where he studied for only eight weeks. At the age of 14, he moved to a new educational institution located in the small town of Newtown. Educators quickly discovered that the boy had a phenomenal memory. He studied well, easily passed even the most difficult exams and in many ways surpassed his peers. In 2007, he was included in the list of honorary students of the school.
However, as a teenager, Adam never learned how to behave in society. He avoided increased attention to his personality, rarely talked to other people and preferred to spend time alone with himself. The young man never had close friends.
Despite his advances in science, at the age of 16, Lanza began to miss school frequently. It was during this period that the boy began to progressively develop autism. To isolate their son from unwanted contacts with society, his parents transferred him to home schooling. In 2008-2009, he only occasionally attended some classes at Western Connecticut University.
Mental problems
Adam's relatives have always known that he has socialization delays. However, they were convinced that over time, the boy would still be able to make friends and build a successful life. But his mental health got worse and worse. In high school, Lanza was diagnosed with sensory integration disorder. It was because of this illness that the boy felt constant anxiety, being in the company of other people.
A little later, doctors discovered that Adam had Asperger's syndrome. The situation was complicated by the fact that the young man also had obsessive-compulsive disorder, due to which he could not lead a normal life. For example, the young man often washed his hands, changed his socks 20 times a day, and always carried antibacterial wipes with him. To somehow help Adam, the attending physician prescribed him strong antidepressants. However, after a course of pills, the guy lost consciousness. Since then, he never took medication again.
In addition, some psychotherapists suspected that Lanza was suffering from schizophrenia. It seemed to the young man all the time that someone was following him. While at home, he repeatedly told his parents that unknown people were watching him, but Adam's mother and father did not attach much importance to these fantastic stories.
Fateful day
On December 14, 2012, Lanza suddenly shot his mother with a rifle. The killer then calmly changed his clothes and arrived at Sandy Hook Elementary School. He immediately ran into the building, took out a gun and entered the junior class, where children of 6-7 years old studied. Adam mercilessly shot 20 children, as well as 5 teachers who ran into the office after hearing the shots. After the terrorist attack, the criminal shot himself in the head and died instantly.
None of Lanza's teachers and acquaintances even suspected that he was capable of mass murder. However, it later turned out that Adam had been interested in the biographies of famous criminals for several years. A huge spreadsheet was found in his house, where the young man recorded all the worst murders in history. There were also several videos on his computer about the use of firearms.
During a conversation with investigators, Lanza's father admitted that his son never allowed family members to enter his room. He covered the windows with black garbage bags and locked the door. Adam practically did not communicate with his father and brother, and corresponded with his mother, who lived in the same house with him, by e-mail. He was completely isolated and spent most of his time on the Internet playing video games.
In the last months of his life, the young man also suffered from anorexia. According to the assumptions of some psychologists, it was this disease that could affect the cognitive impairment in his mind. In addition, a few days before the tragedy, Lanza's family began to prepare to move to another city. However, Adam didn't want to leave his comfort zone. Representatives of the local children's rights bureau believe that it was the reluctance to leave that prompted the young man to resort to violence. Against the backdrop of a growing attack of aggression, he carefully planned the attack and suicide.
The question of why Lanza decided to kill the younger students remains open. At the trial, all the witnesses to the crime said that the guy shot everyone who caught his eye. Adam's mother probably suffered from the fact that all the time she was trying to penetrate into the personal space of her son, who suffers from a dangerous mental disorder of personality.
The consequences of the tragedy
In the aftermath of the attack, it was believed that Adam Lanza was a government-hired dummy actor. The fact is that the Sandy Hook school crime happened during the crisis in the United States. The massacre, in fact, distracted society from economic problems, therefore, according to one version, Lanza's act is a government operation. However, this assumption has never been confirmed.
Lanza's crime prompted the US government to tighten legislation related to the use and possession of firearms. President Barack Obama took the initiative into his own hands and instructed his colleagues to impose control over companies that freely distribute rifles, pistols and machine guns. In addition, after the trial, the Connecticut state administration paid compensation to families affected by Adam Lanza's attack. The Sandy Hook School was dismantled, and all students were transferred to a new educational institution.
